


do you trust me?

by frostirontrash



Series: frostiron fluff fics we (don't really) need [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: 18 and 19, Alternate Universe - Circus, But in a different way, Fluff, Howard Stark's A+ Parenting, M/M, Nervous Tony, Tony Stark Has Trust Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, assistant tony, knife thrower loki, they're teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 20:39:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,797
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18972541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frostirontrash/pseuds/frostirontrash
Summary: Loki’s the circus knife thrower and Tony is the new guy that gets assigned to be his assistant and he’s not sure how much he can trust Loki. To compensate for risking Tony’s life, Loki offers him a date.or the circus au where they find a home in the circus and tony learns to trust loki with his life before they even start dating.





	do you trust me?

 

19 year old Tony Stark never meant to end up in a circus.

He was on his way to become something great. His parents were wealthy, he could’ve inherited their land and everything that came with it but when his mom died he had to make a run for it. He didn’t want to live with his dad, couldn’t bear the thought of it. Tony ran away from home and he had nowhere to go.

Until three years later, he was stealing from a food crate and Ringmaster En Dwi Gast caught him. Instead of taking him to the police, the ringmaster offered him a place in Circus Sakaar, a circus made specifically for lost orphans or beggars with talent. The only problem was Tony didn’t exactly have talent beyond business negotiations.

The Ringmaster didn’t abandon him, thankfully, and reassured him that they could find something for Tony to do. Meanwhile, he was told to stay in one of the cabins and make himself at home. There were three others in said cabin and they all enthusiastically introduced themselves.

Thor, 20, lion tamer ( _impressive._ )

Bruce Banner, 17, fire breathing ( _cool._ )

Steve Rogers, 19, sword swallower. ( _Tony didn’t even want to know how that worked_.)

“How long have you guys been here?” Tony asked them, sitting at the edge of his bed. _His_ bed. He never thought he’d be able to sleep in a bed anymore yet here he was.

“I’ve been here since I was twelve, Steve arrived a year later,” Bruce answered, throwing sticks around (they weren’t lit, thankfully), “Thor’s been around for thirteen years, just like his brother, Loki.”

Tony perked up. “You have a brother? Why aren’t you roommates with him?”

Thor shrugged. “The Ringmaster favors Loki above everyone in the circus. He has his own room, the bastard.”

“Why Loki?” Tony frowned. What could make someone so special?

“Word has it that En wants to make him the next ringmaster when the time comes,” Steve said, "He's actually fit for it." 

After two days, Tony was starting to feel bad. The circus fed him, gave him shelter and he felt like he was the only one who wasn’t contributing. Last night, he watched the circus perform and he had to admit everyone was amazing in their individual acts. He had searched for Loki (Thor said he was the knife thrower) and was impressed with Loki’s skill in aiming. It was incredibly precise and his stage presence was _amazing_. Tony then understood why the Ringmaster wanted him to be the next circus leader.

When the Ringmaster came into their cabin the next day and told Tony to get up and follow him, Tony was ecstatic. _Finally_ , he could contribute something.

“Where are we going, sir?” Tony asked, scurrying after the Ringmaster.

“Loki’s assistant left the circus,” the Ringmaster stated, walking to one of the tents where practices were held, “He needs a new one. I think you’ll be perfect for the job.”

Tony slowed down at that, his mind registering the words. “Assistant... assistant as in bring him water and sharpen his knives or assistant as in get knives thrown at you.” The former he can do, he’d be more than willing, but the latter... that felt too dangerous. He’s never even met the guy.

“Don’t worry, with Loki’s skill, knives won’t be thrown at you. Just around you.”

“What?” Tony squeaked.

“Here we are!” The Ringmaster exclaimed, completely ignoring Tony’s panic. He looked over the a man dressed in all black, currently blindfolded as he threw knives at a target.

“Loki! Come over here.”

Loki took his blindfold off and turned around, daggers still in hand. He walked over and smiled, extending his hand towards Tony. And _shit_ , this was the first time Tony saw Loki this close and he was _hot_ and charming and Tony was now more unsure as to how he can survive this.

“Hello, I’m Loki. You must be the new one Thor has been telling me about,” Loki said. _Is it possible for someone’s voice to be that smooth?_ Tony stared at him for awhile then realized he’s been staring a bit too long. He shook himself out of his thoughts and shook Loki’s hand. 

“Uh, Tony,” he said dumbly. He was usually more confident than this.

“Well, nice to meet you, Tony,” Loki smirked. He turned to the Ringmaster, “Is he my new assistant?”

The Ringmaster nodded, “You two get along. I’ll see you for tonight’s show.”

Tony looked at him, eyes wide. “ _Tonight?_ We haven’t even practiced, how—”

“You shall see us tonight, sir,” Loki grinned, putting a hand on Tony’s shoulder, “I assure you, we will _both_ be ready by then.”

Before Tony could say a word, the Ringmaster left and Tony was alone, standing in front of this sex-on-legs guy that could end up killing him tonight. _Just his luck._

“Relax, I will guide you. This is not my first show, you know?” Loki teased lightly, leading a nervous Tony to a nearby wheel, “I will show you my skills first before testing them with you. Stand in front of the wheel, I will outline your body so you can see that I do not miss.”

Tony gulped but did as Loki asked. While Loki traced a marker around him, he asked, “How are you so confident you won’t miss?”

“I have not missed a single target since I was seven,” Loki said softly, “You will be alright, I assure you. For now, step away, I will throw the knives around the outline.”

And he did. Perfectly. The knives followed the outline with such accuracy that Tony couldn’t understand how he did it. It shouldn’t have been _possible_ but Loki managed to do it. Then, Loki instructed Tony to spin the wheel and he put the new knives right next to the old ones. Loki then took a black piece of cloth and told Tony he was going to put it over his eyes.

“What? How are you supposed to see the target?” Tony asked worriedly.

“It is only for show, I can still see through it a bit,” Loki assured. He sampled by putting it over Tony’s eyes, “You can still see me, right?”

“Barely...” Tony mumbled.

Loki chuckled, “I am used to it, do not fret." 

Tony gaped at him. “This is going to be my life on the line, of course I’m going to fret!”

Loki responded by tying the cloth over his eyes and throwing a knife towards an apple on a post that Tony hadn’t even noticed before.

“Christ!” Tony cursed, jumping a bit, “A bit of warning would be nice." 

“Are you ready to try standing in front of the wheel now?” Loki took the blindfold off, looking at Tony with those gorgeous eyes. Why did he have to be hot too? Why couldn’t Tony get a normal partner? Not a charming, deadly knife wielder. 

“Don’t think I’ll ever be ready,” He muttered.

“You will have to do it soon. The show will start in four hours.”

Tony inhaled deeply, trying not to let his hands shake. He had to trust Loki. _A man he met an hour and a half ago_. That’s alright, Loki’s got this. He’s been doing this for over a decade. Loki’s got this.

“You won’t kill me, right?” Tony joked weakly once he was standing in front of the wheel, spreading out a bit.

Loki approached him, holding one of his arms. “I understand your terror but this will not work for the audience if you are scared. I know it is difficult but you must trust me, even just for the extent of our performance,” he murmured. His face was awfully close to Tony’s and Tony was having a hard time breathing. He’s not sure if it’s from the nerves or because Loki was so damn close.

“I—I don’t know how,” Tony mumbled.

“Do you want to go out with me, Tony?” Loki said softly. He put a hand next to Tony’s head, leaning on the wheel, “I noticed your staring more than a few times. Do you wish to go out with me?" 

Tony stared at him, mouth open, before he croaked out a, “ _What_?”

“Is that a yes?”

“I—” Tony swallowed, “I guess that would be nice, yeah.”

“Okay, I will take you out on one condition,” Loki whispered, leaning _way_ too close, “ _Trust me_ with this, give me an amazing performance tonight and _then_ I will take you out.”

“H—how will I give you a,” He closed his eyes, “An amazing performance? That’s your job.”

Loki shook his head, a small smile playing at his lips. “The crowd will notice your uneasiness if you do not trust me enough. It will... take them away from the magic of the performance.”

 _Come on,_ Loki asked him out, he should take the offer. At one point, Tony will have to trust him so the date was just a plus. A bonus.

“Okay,” Tony swallowed the lump in his throat, “I’ll try.”

“Do not worry, we will work our way up to it,” Loki assured. He moved away from Tony, letting go of his arm. He stood a good distance away and told Tony to stay still. “Do not move.”

He threw the first knife and it landed right next to Tony’s arm. He flinched but managed to stay still. He focused on Loki’s face, not wanting to follow the knives as they shot close to his body. As they continued, Tony didn’t look away from Loki. His face was calm and that helped Tony calm down as well (at least, enough for him to stop shaking).

They practiced for four hours. An hour was spent on the wheel as Loki built up Tony’s trust and then they moved on to more difficult things. Apples, hoops, wine glasses—the list was endless. At one point, Loki asked Tony to put a cigarette between his lips so he could slice out the fire. Tony was shaking too much, the cigarette kept moving so Loki waved his hand. 

“We can do that next time, it is one of the more complex tricks anyway.”

Tony was relieved he still had boundaries, few as they may be.

When performance night came around, Tony was incredibly nervous but he’s _seen_ Loki’s skill. Loki had not missed once during their practice session and all the other acts assured Tony that Loki would keep him safe.

Tony found himself trusting Loki to keep him safe that night. Once their performance was over, he grinned and followed Loki backstage.

“You owe me a date now.”

Loki put his knives in a case and turned to him.

“We’ll sneak out tonight, I’ll pick you up from your room.”

_Perfect._

**Author's Note:**

> i'd love to hear your thought! i'm also accepting prompts as well! you can comment them or message me on the frostiron discord (@frostxiron28) if you have any!!


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